A deceased patient suspected of COVID-19 being brought home for a wake in Kolaka regency, Southeast Sulawesi. Photo: Video screengrab

It’s hard to imagine losing a loved one and not being able to give them a proper send-off, but a family in Kolaka regency, Southeast Sulawesi who recently lost someone suspected of having COVID-19 is facing criticism in Indonesia for deliberately ignoring safety protocol by holding a proper wake for her.

According to reports, a 34-year-old female patient died on Monday after five days of isolation at the Bahteramas General Hospital in the nearby city of Kendari, where she had been under observation for exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms but had not officially tested positive for the disease.

Videos of her family bringing her body home for a wake have gone viral, reportedly after they insisted that she was not infected with the coronavirus.

Rabiul Awal, Southeast Sulawesi’s spokesperson for COVID-19-related matters, confirmed that the family deliberately refused to follow COVID-19 protocol related to handling of dead bodies despite warnings from local health authorities.

“The hospital offered a handling protocol like the one for deceased patients who have tested positive for COVID-19, but the family insisted and refused. We have evidence in a release signed by the deceased’s husband,” Rabiul said, as quoted by Tempo.

Rabiul said that the body was initially sealed in an airtight plastic wrap and was set for burial without a wake or funeral, as has become government protocol for dead COVID-19 patients in order to prevent the coronavirus in the deceased from infecting others.

“If [the family] understood this, then they would’ve avoided [holding the wake]. But there’s the family perspective as well,” he said.

After the above videos went viral, the police and military say that they will take stern action against anyone who refuses to follow COVID-19 protocol on handling of the deceased.